Solicitor - Professional Indemnity & Commercial Litigation
Job Introduction
We are offering the opportunity to be a part of our well-regarded combined Professional Indemnity and Commercial Litigation team in Manchester. This is an excellent opportunity for a 0 – 4 PQE solicitor to develop a wide knowledge base, working across our team’s two specialisms. We are ideally looking for a candidate with Commercial Litigation and / or Professional Indemnity experience, with a willingness to work across both specialisms.
We are a top 20 law firm, with numerous locations throughout the UK and Worldwide. The Manchester team comprises of 5 partners, 1 Legal Director, 2 Senior Associates and a complementing team of Associates, Solicitors and Paralegals. The team is part of the Professional & Commercial Risks - North cluster with Partners and other lawyers based also in Leeds and Newcastle.
Our Professional Indemnity colleagues advise insurers and professionals facing professional negligence claims. We act on numerous high value and sensitive claims for clients throughout the UK, involving both 'traditional' (e.g. solicitors, insurance brokers, accountants, surveyors and construction professionals) and 'emerging' (e.g. IT / media / recruitment consultants and such like) professions. The team also handles a wide range of claims arising from Contractors All Risks and other construction project insurance policies. It is also experienced in the deployment of alternative dispute resolution techniques, including mediation and has significant adjudication experience.
Our Commercial Dispute Resolution colleagues carry out a wide range of business dispute related work including contractual and tortious claims, shareholder/company disputes and urgent injunctive work (including freezing injunctions and search orders, in particular acting as supervising solicitors). We also deal with disputes in a number of specialist areas such as product liability, defamation, IP, IT, sports, disciplinary and insolvency. The team further carries out investigations, including following fraudulent activities.
Role Responsibility
Specific responsibilities include but are not restricted to:
• Handle a varied workload of mixed professional negligence and commercial litigation claims in accordance with client expectations and with an appropriate level of supervision.
• Act as a point of contact for clients, demonstrating a level of knowledge and skill commensurate with experience.
• Undertake High Court litigation as well as mediation and adjudication , drafting documents and managing the relevant dispute resolution process, supporting partners in larger matters as well as managing your own caseload.
• Experience of urgent applications for injunctive relief.
• Working together with colleagues in our Leeds and Newcastle offices.
• Exercise full compliance with DAC Beachcroft protocols on billing and credit control and demonstrate a high level of financial management in respect of own files.
• Aim to achieve a minimum budgeted annual target of chargeable hours per year.
• Support marketing and business development activity within the team e.g. attending marketing events and client training.
• Build an awareness of the Firm's other services. Build effective internal and external networks.
• Maintain an awareness of the firm's strategies and plans.
• Maintain and develop technical knowledge through attendance at training sessions, reading appropriate publications and exceeding Law Society CPD requirements
• Handle confidential information in line with the firms data security protocols.
The Ideal Candidate
Key skills
• 0-4 PQE Solicitor with previous experience preferably in Professional Indemnity, Insurance or Commercial Litigation.
• Excellent relationship and client handling skills. Able to deal confidently and professionally with clients on day to day issues.
• Able to demonstrate a reasonable level of self-sufficiency, combined with an awareness of the boundaries of own competence/authority.
• An ability to adopt a commercial perspective rather than an ‘academic’ approach to legal issues.
• Change oriented with a positive, flexible approach towards the implementation of new initiatives.
• Team oriented and collegiate with a willingness to share knowledge with and support other members of the team.
About the Company
We are a leading international legal business with over 2,400 colleagues and a diverse range of capabilities. We have 11 offices in the UK as well as offices in Dublin, Madrid, Paris, Singapore, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Miami. We also have associations/alliances with firms in Northern Ireland, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Brazil, Peru, Central America, Argentina, the USA, Australia and Germany.
We are known for our market-leading presence in sectors such as Insurance, Health and Real Estate. This is complemented by a fast-growing Business Advisory capability. We represent a wide range of clients, ranging from household names to government departments and NHS bodies. We act for the majority of the top 30 insurance and financial services companies operating in the UK. We are the asset management lawyers for the UK’s largest shopping centres and act for 9 of the UK’s top 10 housebuilders.
We have an impressive legal pedigree, with 155 Chambers UK 2019 practice area and individual lawyer rankings, including 30 rankings at 'Band 1' level. In Legal 500 UK, 2018, the firm received top tier ranking for 32 of its practice areas and 59 practice areas in the top two tiers. In March 2018, we were named as one of Legal Week's Best Legal Advisors for the third year running, achieving category-leading satisfaction scores for our commercial approach, service delivery, quality of legal advice, communication & responsiveness and overall relationships.
Our vision is to be leading business advisers, recognised for our insight and our outstanding commitment to clients, and for being the place where talented people want to work. For further details on our work and our culture, please visit www.dacbeachcroft.com.
DAC Beachcroft is an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from every sector of the community. We also welcome direct applications. If this opportunity sounds of interest to you, please make an application and submit your CV. Your application will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence.
DAC Beachcroft